Springfield man pleads guilty in 2012 heroin-related death

A 28-year-old Springfield man pleaded guilty Wednesday to drug-induced homicide and other drug charges related to the death of a 43-year-old New Berlin man in 2012.

Gary R. “Robbie” Clark admitted that he supplied the heroin that led to the overdose death of Daniel Buehrle on Oct. 28, 2012.

Springfield police went to Southwind Park that day after someone called to report a drunken driver. They found Buehrle dead inside a parked car just a few hours before a trick-or-treating event at the park.

Clark faces six to 30 years in prison when he is sentenced Sept. 26 by Sangamon County Circuit Judge John Schmidt.

He pleaded guilty to drug-induced homicide — the first time that crime has been charged in Sangamon County — and three counts of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance.

Sangamon County State's Attorney John Milhiser said Clark sold heroin to a confidential police source Oct. 30, two days after Buehrle's body was found. He also sold the drug to an undercover police officer Nov. 19. He was arrested Feb. 15, 2013, and indicted by a grand jury later that month in connection with Buehrle's death.

Clark nodded his head downward and softly said, “I plead guilty, your honor,” as Schmidt read each of the four charges.

“There is no evidence the defendant intended to kill anyone,” Milhiser said. “But a person died as a result of his actions, and he is being held responsible.”

Clark, who is being held in the Sangamon County Jail in lieu of $750,000 bond, is represented by Jacksonville attorney G. Ronald Kesinger.